"We are very excited about our alliance with SII NanoTechnology," notes Manfred Bergsch, Managing Director for SPECTRO. "We consider it an important step in further expanding our presence in Japan. It also reflects the importance of our growing Japanese customer base."

"By partnering with SII NanoTechnology, we gain the experience and expertise of the established leader in Japan's growing ICP-OES and ICP-MS instruments market. At the same time, SPECTRO brings to the partnership the best-in-class technology of its ICP instrument products along with industry-leading factory support that includes access to our innovative eLearning portal: SPECTRO Campus," he adds.

The alliance covers all SPECTRO ICP-OES and ICP-MS instruments, including SPECTRO GENESIS, ARCOS and the recently introduced SPECTRO MS. SPECTRO will continue to support its existing Japanese customers through a subsidiary, formed in 2008. In recognition of the alliance, SPECTRO recently sold its 3,000th ICP-OES system to SII NanoTechnology for use at its Tokyo facility for demonstrations and application support.

SII NanoTechnology, which originated as the R&D division of Seiko Instruments and became a separate stand-alone company in 2003, is a leader in nanotechnology and ultra-precision measuring technology with more than 30 years experience in the manufacture and marketing of ICP-OES instruments and ICP mass spectrometers. With its headquarters in Chiba, Japan, SII NanoTechnology has over 300 employees in Japan and more than 500 worldwide.

Based in Kleve, Germany, SPECTRO is a unit of AMETEK Materials Analysis Division, which manufactures instruments used in metals analysis, environmental monitoring, research and development, and petrochemical, pharmaceutical and electronics manufacture. Among its product technologies are arc/spark, ICP optical emission, ICP mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence for the analysis of solids, liquids, and powders.

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About SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbHSPECTRO is among the world’s leading suppliers of analytical instruments for optical emission and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. It manufactures advanced instruments, develops the best solutions for strongly varying applications, and provides exemplary customer service. SPECTRO products are exemplified by unique technical capabilities that deliver measureable benefits to the customer. From its foundation in 1979 until today, more than 30,000 analytical instruments have been delivered to customers around the world. SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbH is a unit of AMETEK, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with annual sales of $2.5 billion